Grid has been in the public eye since the Get Productive Grid book was published in 2013. To date, the method has attracted early adopters and champions we call Grid Ambassadors. These individuals come from around the world – the United Kingdom, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil.

Together we are building a community of change-makers and this is our Grid Manifesto.

• Have a read and leave us a comment.
• Check out our growing collection of Grid shorts on YouTube or volunteer to share your Grid story.
• Invite us into your workplace to talk about the benefits of balance and how to make it happen.

Grid manifesto – Our Lives are in Our Hands

At Make Time Count, we believe that BALANCE is:

• For everyone and not just the few
• Worthwhile and deeply enriching
• Achievable
• A foundational skill for a healthy and productive individual, workplace and humanity
• A major factor if we want a fairer society that addresses inequality and supports healthy families
• A key priority if we want to counter the rising burnout crisis and threat to human health and productivity
• Something tangible we can work to improve individually and collectively
• Much-needed culture change.

Imbalance on the other hand has a big cost to the individual, those they interact with and the larger whole.

We envisage a world where every person is taught the skills and given tools to create a wholesome, rich and meaningful life by being able to balance their personal needs, work demands, self-care and career aspirations. 

No more impossible trade-offs between work and sleep, health and success, family and career, or giving all to others without also feeling and being replenished. 

Grid is a practical, effective, and structured way of bringing self-care and impact into our lives, and with it better health for all. Grid is designed to support each of us in being well and doing well, so that we can be part of the positive change in the world.

It’s time for a positive change. And the time is now!

From Dr. Magdalena Bak-Maier, Grid Creator

Just as we cannot create a mentally healthier world if we spend all our time looking at what’s wrong with our brains instead of considering a wide range of social and environmental factors that can increase levels of distress in us all, we can not create healthy lives if we spend all our time “at or in work’.

And yet, increasingly the world is being constructured in such a way as to turn a balanced life into a privilage. New ways of working also often shift responsibility for work-life balance onto the individual.

Grid is a simple framework designed to guide and support people in assessing their present circumstances, formulating actions and engaging in behavior that reflects healthier choices. A balanced life is on par with the true diginity of each human life and something we must protect. This applies to people of all age, status and cultures.

Dr. Magdalena Bak-Maier, Neuroscientists, educator and Grid creator

Young adult perspective mini project

We are asking young adults to tell us what they think as we believe that poor habits start already in school.

Here’s one perspective from a 16-year-old we consulted. We asked her if the manifesto resonated and felt relevant to people her age.

This is what she told us. Check back with this page as we gather more views.

Wish to contribute your view, please leave a comment below.

I really like the ethos and ideas you are putting across. I think they’re universal and key to equality and good mental health, which are factors, I’m sure, many people agree affect them in life. There is a clear objective and feeling that you’re conveying. It also implies a structure which can aid people in different aspects of life and livelihood.

It definitely resonates as it’s difficult to be productive as a 16-year-old due to the immense amount of both societal and educational pressure we are under. There is also a lack of self-care in teenage life because of the rise of mental health issues and exam stress, so the inclusion of self-care in the manifesto would definitely be relevant to how teenagers feel. Similarly the aspect about a culture change resonates as there is a lazy, toxic culture that is especially prevalent in teenagers, around overworking and neglecting personal needs. 

I would definitely agree that I need this due to the amount of stress myself and others my age endure. It would really help for us to improve health through this effective methods as it gives organisation and, as you mentioned, something “tangible” which isn’t difficult to understand or use.  I hope this Is helpful and I really like and agree with the manifesto. It’s very relevant and multifaceted in terms of addressing all aspects of life.

Mia Clarke

What do you think?

Have a view or perspective on the Grid Manifesto? Leave us your feedback below. If you can tell us your age that will help to build a richer picture of our experience.